World and Press October 1
October 1 2023• No 19 • 75th Year of Publication •Original Pressetexte aus britischen und US-amerikanischen Medien€ 3,00 [d]Sprachtraining • Landeskunde • Vokabelhilfen • ÜbungsmaterialIN FOCUSB2–C2• Opinion: The pandemic:Forgotten, but not gone| Photo: New York TimesIndian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and his BharatiyaJanata Party have cultivated astrong relationship with thecountry’s successful diaspora.Read more on pag e 3‘Wholesome’ is used todescribe anything that is sincere,nice, or cute. So when didthe word become a Generation Zcompliment?Read more on pag e 12| Photo: UnsplashPage 2USA• States: Secession talksin a Northern Californiacounty• Education: A high schoolfor students in recoveryfrom addictionPages 4–5BRITAIN• Military: UN calls forraising enlistment age inthe UK• Eton College: Wrestlingwith change in a moremodern BritainPages 6–7OTHER TOPICS• Ireland: National parkbattles slow-motionecological calamity• Debt crisis: Trappedin the crossfire of theU.S.–China rivalry• Wales: The battle foreconomic revival in theWelsh valleys• Hobbies: They built thedigital world. Now they justwant to make chairs.Pages 8/9/11/13Gibt’s auchdigital!www.sprachzeitungen.de‘Nobody was expecting it’BRITISH MUSEUMExperts say loss of1,500 items revealslax cataloguingand boosts case forreturning objects tocountries of origin.By Andrew Anthony1 CLOSE OBSERVERSof theantiquities market tend to be acynical bunch, having witnessedany number of scams, dubiouspractices, and illicit trading. Yetthere was a collective expressionof shock among them last weekwhen news emerged of the unexplainedabsence of a reportedabout 2,000 items from the BritishMuseum’s priceless collectionof ancient and historical artefacts,leading to the resignationof director Hartwig Fischer.2 “The volume of missingobjects is huge,” says ChristosTsirogiannis, a UNESCO-relatedexpert on illicit antiquities at theIonian University in Corfu. “Noexperts were expecting this tohappen in one of the world’s biggestmuseums.”3 Christopher Marinello agrees.The CEO of Art Recovery International,which specialises inrecovering stolen art, says: “Ourorganisation gets reports of theftevery single day from variousmuseums, cultural institutions,churches around the world. Whatsurprised us was the fact that itwas the British Museum, one ofthe most important museums inthe world and a benchmark in security.”The Great Court at the British Museum in London. | Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images4 That benchmark has fallenseveral notches after reportsof precious artefacts going onsale on eBay, where one Romanobject, it is said, valued at up to£50,000, was offered for just£40. Last week, the museumannounced that Peter Higgs, asenior curator who worked atthe institution for 30 years, hadbeen sacked earlier this year afteritems were found to be missing.5 The museum has announcedan inquiry, more than two yearsafter officials were first informedof illicit sales from its collection,and police have also launchedan investigation. On Friday, museumdirector Hartwig Fischerannounced he was stepping downfollowing the suspected thefts.6 But already, serious damagehas been done to the museum’sreputation, giving fresh momentumto arguments for the returnof objects like the ParthenonMarbles (also known as the ElginMarbles), Benin Bronzes, andEthiopian Tabots to their originalhomes. The link between questionsof security and culturalownership has been made embarrassinglyconspicuous by therevelation that Higgs had been incharge of the Parthenon Marblesin his former role as the keeper ofthe Greek collections. Higgs deniesany wrongdoing.7 As Despina Koutsoumba,head of the Association of GreekArchaeologists, put it: “We wantto tell the British Museum thatthey cannot anymore say thatGreek culture heritage is moreprotected in the British Museum.”That particular debate is likelyonly to get louder as more detailsbecome public, but meanwhile,what will become of the missingobjects, and is there any chance ofobtaining their return?8 “It will take decades,” saysMarinello, outlining the legaland forensic complexities of tracingitems, many of which appearnot to have been properly, or atleast publicly, catalogued.Marinello, an American lawyerwho works out of a London office,says he is responsible for recoveringsome £475 million worth ofContinued on page 12€3,50 [a,f] CHF5,40 [ch]0 – 3 TO REVEALoffenbaren; s.w.u. revelationEnthüllung — case Argument — country of originUrsprungsland — observer Beobachter(in) —antiquities Antiquitäten — scam Betrug — illicittrading verbotener Handel — to emerge bekanntwerden — resignation Kündigung — recoveryWiedererlangung; s.w.u. to recover — benchmark(fig) Maßstab4 – 6 notch Kerbe; (fig) Stufe — to value schätzen— senior leitend — inquiry Untersuchung — officialh.: leitende(r) Mitarbeiter(in) — to step downzurücktreten — to give fresh momentum erneutAuftrieb geben — marbles h.: Marmorskulpturenund -fragmente — tabot Tabot (Altartafel) — conspicuousoffensichtlich — wrongdoing Fehlverhalten7 – 9 culture heritage Kulturerbe — to outlineumreißen — to trace ausfindig machen
